what do you actually 'get' now? (money)

[tardiz]

i thought hospital nhs etc came out of NI payments which are fine it is the income tax which is a big chunk takes out of wages which benefits etc comes from which i think annoys people. we and hubby pay about 700 p/month income tax out of our wages and are intitled to no help what so ever when it comes to having children

 

[BabyNo1.]

Yep basically nothing if you work! we are lucky to get an maternity really I mean what do they do with all the money they tax me at the end of the month, coz I don't get any of it back! I would be quite happy not getting any benefits if they just taxed me less so I could keep more of what I actually get of my arse to earn!

I'm guessing your not using the NHS at all then! free prescriptions whilst pregnant? free dental care? NHS Midwife? NHS Hospital?

Not to mention all the other things Income Tax pays for!

Yes its unfair that LOW income families arent getting as much help but you cant say your not getting anything back! It would cost alot more to have a baby if you had to pay for your healthcare. Just having a baby in a private hospital costs over £10000!

Yeah I think you get the idea we know what the taxes are supposed to pay for!
Yes we all use the NHS, but a little bit of help back for all the years of hard work would be appreciated by many families. I'm not asking for benefits just a reduction in the amount of tax I pay on what I earn each month!

You have had a reduction the government upped the amount you can earn before having to pay tax!

I dont see why people have this 'I'm having a baby what are the government going to give me?' attitude? The government handing out money to everyone is what got us into debt in the first place and somehow it has to be paid back!

I'm glad they've taken the £190 grant away it was a waste of money in the first place! The £500 grant is still available for LOW income families for the first child they have so they are still helping people that need it!

So you don't claim child benefit then?

Also I think you are barking up the wrong tree most people that responded to this thread actually work and are asking for some help and support from the government after paying their taxes for years. The people you are referring to are surely the people that have children regardless of not being in work and repeat the cycle of living off benefits, I'm sure some people are genuinely in need of those benefits, others are updating their facebook status with "down the pub having a nice beer in the sun" whilst the rest of us are at work! o well its a tough life...

 

[Boony]

My husband 'only' earns £1500 a month after tax and i dont see that as a low wage we manage to pay rent and bills pay for our kids with money left at the end of the month. Anybody that has money left after rent/mortgage bills food etc shouldnt need any help the point of benefits is to help people that cant afford to live and pay rent etc. Yes some people take the p*ss with benefits but theres nothing you can do to change it.

 

[smileyfaces]

I whole heartedly agree with everyone posting on here who are in the same boat as me... low income families who break our backs working so many hours in order to cover our basic bills and have not much left after that whereas people who do not work for whatever reason seem to have help handed to them on a plate. Fair enough for those who have good reason not to work but for the majority it seems that there are too many perks of not working to encourage them to stay at home and let other people pay for them. Winds me up something rotten. I think the government should really revise the help that they give to low income families.

 

[leahsbabybump]

Yep basically nothing if you work! we are lucky to get an maternity really I mean what do they do with all the money they tax me at the end of the month, coz I don't get any of it back! I would be quite happy not getting any benefits if they just taxed me less so I could keep more of what I actually get of my arse to earn!

I'm guessing your not using the NHS at all then! free prescriptions whilst pregnant? free dental care? NHS Midwife? NHS Hospital?

Not to mention all the other things Income Tax pays for!

Yes its unfair that LOW income families arent getting as much help but you cant say your not getting anything back! It would cost alot more to have a baby if you had to pay for your healthcare. Just having a baby in a private hospital costs over £10000!

Yeah I think you get the idea we know what the taxes are supposed to pay for!
Yes we all use the NHS, but a little bit of help back for all the years of hard work would be appreciated by many families. I'm not asking for benefits just a reduction in the amount of tax I pay on what I earn each month!

You have had a reduction the government upped the amount you can earn before having to pay tax!

I dont see why people have this 'I'm having a baby what are the government going to give me?' attitude? The government handing out money to everyone is what got us into debt in the first place and somehow it has to be paid back!

I'm glad they've taken the £190 grant away it was a waste of money in the first place! The £500 grant is still available for LOW income families for the first child they have so they are still helping people that need it!

what we are actually getting at is that the government seem to help the people who dont want to help themselves!! obviously you and your OH get a comfy income either that or you are on benefits and dont feel the stresses as a family me and my OH earn £1300 per month my rent and council tax is £600 per month speaks for its self really on average the gas and electric comes in at just over £100 per month so we have under £100 per week to pay travel expenses to get to work to feed and cloth our selves and our children pay tv liscence water rates and all the rest of it. We worked out that a woman on her own with two kids would get a free house no rent no council tax and then would have £150 to feed and clothe her family (which is one less person) and she has no travel expenses to pay for to get to work.

 

[Boony]

Yep basically nothing if you work! we are lucky to get an maternity really I mean what do they do with all the money they tax me at the end of the month, coz I don't get any of it back! I would be quite happy not getting any benefits if they just taxed me less so I could keep more of what I actually get of my arse to earn!

I'm guessing your not using the NHS at all then! free prescriptions whilst pregnant? free dental care? NHS Midwife? NHS Hospital?

Not to mention all the other things Income Tax pays for!

Yes its unfair that LOW income families arent getting as much help but you cant say your not getting anything back! It would cost alot more to have a baby if you had to pay for your healthcare. Just having a baby in a private hospital costs over £10000!

Yeah I think you get the idea we know what the taxes are supposed to pay for!
Yes we all use the NHS, but a little bit of help back for all the years of hard work would be appreciated by many families. I'm not asking for benefits just a reduction in the amount of tax I pay on what I earn each month!

You have had a reduction the government upped the amount you can earn before having to pay tax!

I dont see why people have this 'I'm having a baby what are the government going to give me?' attitude? The government handing out money to everyone is what got us into debt in the first place and somehow it has to be paid back!

I'm glad they've taken the £190 grant away it was a waste of money in the first place! The £500 grant is still available for LOW income families for the first child they have so they are still helping people that need it!

what we are actually getting at is that the government seem to help the people who dont want to help themselves!! obviously you and your OH get a comfy income either that or you are on benefits and dont feel the stresses as a family me and my OH earn £1300 per month my rent and council tax is £600 per month speaks for its self really on average the gas and electric comes in at just over £100 per month so we have under £100 per week to pay travel expenses to get to work to feed and cloth our selves and our children pay tv liscence water rates and all the rest of it. We worked out that a woman on her own with two kids would get a free house no rent no council tax and then would have £150 to feed and clothe her family (which is one less person) and she has no travel expenses to pay for to get to work.

I've already said my OH brings home £1500 a month after tax and we manage fine yes, but its not exactly a high income but i wouldnt class it as low either.

The government are still giving the £500 grant to LOW income families which means the families that work but dont earn enough! If you get the child element of tax credits then you still get the grant so i dont see the problem?

 

[leahsbabybump]

and how hard is it to qualify for the child element of tax credits we were £500 over the threshold but they dont take into consideration the tax on that £500 do they?? noo they dont which is what we saying when they work out your entitlement for all these benefits etc they dont take into consideration what you earnt after tax they will only look at what you earned before tax. If you look at what we earned after we paid tax and NI then we qualified for it but we cant get a dime because they not interested in the fact that we paid all the income tax and kept all the junkies on the dole (they get £300 per fortnight simply for being alcohol dependant WTF they get other money on top of that)
The whole system needs re looking at as it is a bloody joke

 

[beccad]

The trouble is that the definition of a low income family in one area, can be different in another area. £16k might be fine to get by in area A, but to have the same standard of living in area B, you might have to earn £20k, or more. Where I live, to rent a three-bedroom house (ex-LA) you're looking at £1200pcm as an absolute minimum, so a very high cost of living.

Applying a general definition of 'low-income' across a whole country, just doesn't work very well.

 

[mons75]

I think the whole system is f***d my OH works 65hrs a week and I normally do 50, I'm not working right now as its not possible to do the freelance work I do while highly pregnant. We are earning good money but it would still be nice to get some help. This is essentially why we are trying to move from this country (UK) as we think it would be nice to be able to afford childcare and to have hours to see our child. The conditions here are not reasonable to me. I dont mind working hard if it buys you freedom but the price for that is too high here, hence we are hopefully moving.

I get 128 pounds a week as MA on freelance, that doesenteven cover my part of the rent. Ha ha ha ha ha! Idiotic.

 

[leahsbabybump]

The trouble is that the definition of a low income family in one area, can be different in another area. £16k might be fine to get by in area A, but to have the same standard of living in area B, you might have to earn £20k, or more. Where I live, to rent a three-bedroom house (ex-LA) you're looking at £1200pcm as an absolute minimum, so a very high cost of living.

Applying a general definition of 'low-income' across a whole country, just doesn't work very well.

this is also so true i have a one bedroomed flat which is all we can afford in our area this cost us £400pm for a three bedroomed house it cost £600+ we dont qualify for help as we can afford the one bedroomed place they dont take into consideration in my area that you need somewere bigger and help you pay for the bigger place they just say "you can afford to live were you are so you will manage therefor th etimebeing come back when oldest child is 10 and your youngest child is 5" WTF we wont qualify for help for another 5 years weve given up anyway just struggle along to make ends meet and i change my job wenever something better paid comes along see how far we get that way asi cant be out of work would drive me md sat at home on my backside all day lol :-/

 

[welshwarriors]

We get Child Benefit and TAx credits, its not a lot but its a nice bit of extra money

 

[ChocolateKate]

I can feel the frustration in this thread and without doubt, the system is far from perfect. It can appear incredibly unfair but also I am grateful for what we do receive. I pay a lot of tax but my salary is relative to the area I live in etc. I will qualify for Maternity Allowance but I see this as a benefit not an entitlement. I actually feel we're very fortunate in this country being able to get some pay, and to have up to a year off work. This is not the same in most countries.

I also do believe that I've made a decision to have a child and therefore it's my responsibility to be able to support myself financially etc. I know when there are people abusing the system this doesn't seem 'fair' but it feels like the right thing to do, for me. Not trying to be argumentative at all, just stating my opinion. X

 

[Essex1stbaby]

Yep basically nothing if you work! we are lucky to get an maternity really I mean what do they do with all the money they tax me at the end of the month, coz I don't get any of it back! I would be quite happy not getting any benefits if they just taxed me less so I could keep more of what I actually get of my arse to earn!

I'm guessing your not using the NHS at all then! free prescriptions whilst pregnant? free dental care? NHS Midwife? NHS Hospital?

Not to mention all the other things Income Tax pays for!

Yes its unfair that LOW income families arent getting as much help but you cant say your not getting anything back! It would cost alot more to have a baby if you had to pay for your healthcare. Just having a baby in a private hospital costs over £10000!

Yeah I think you get the idea we know what the taxes are supposed to pay for!
Yes we all use the NHS, but a little bit of help back for all the years of hard work would be appreciated by many families. I'm not asking for benefits just a reduction in the amount of tax I pay on what I earn each month!

You have had a reduction the government upped the amount you can earn before having to pay tax!

I dont see why people have this 'I'm having a baby what are the government going to give me?' attitude? The government handing out money to everyone is what got us into debt in the first place and somehow it has to be paid back!

I'm glad they've taken the £190 grant away it was a waste of money in the first place! The £500 grant is still available for LOW income families for the first child they have so they are still helping people that need it!

what we are actually getting at is that the government seem to help the people who dont want to help themselves!! obviously you and your OH get a comfy income either that or you are on benefits and dont feel the stresses as a family me and my OH earn £1300 per month my rent and council tax is £600 per month speaks for its self really on average the gas and electric comes in at just over £100 per month so we have under £100 per week to pay travel expenses to get to work to feed and cloth our selves and our children pay tv liscence water rates and all the rest of it. We worked out that a woman on her own with two kids would get a free house no rent no council tax and then would have £150 to feed and clothe her family (which is one less person) and she has no travel expenses to pay for to get to work.

I think the original point of this thread was asking if we knew what the government was offering in terms of money before having the baby. It seems to be like taking small grants and benefits off of pregnant women is supposed to save the economy well its not.

I know people who live in 3 bedrooms houses with gardens half the size of a football pitch on benefits. Who could not possibly afford to live in houses like this, have bills paid, council tax paid and still have over 150 pounds a week to live on (a couple on benefits with one child can get this - especially if you are on ESA). If some people get this why shoudn't honest, hard working people get something back such as help to start a family?

I personally wouldn't mind paying tax & NI if the system was right i.e. NHS wasn't so dirty and you actually got given more than 5 minutes at a scan, and you didn't have to wait an hour for a consultant appointment. The police actually did their job, the army were not sent to war for no reason and we weren't having the olympics. A very very small amount of what you pay you get back in terms of a service - It is as simple as that.

Although worst case scenario, at this being in the UK losing your job you can always claim LOL

x

 

[mons75]

I agree Chocolate Kate, I'm grateful too to get something. But To be honest I'd rather pay more tax and pay a tenner for every GP appointment and get reasonable money when having a child with equal paternity leave as an option, hence why I want to move. I just think Uk is really backwards and not working in terms of NHS etc.

1 thing I dont agree with you on is that you can take a year off, you cant unless you have money saved. I get MA fo 6 months, thats it. I'm freelance. And if I was employed I couldnt afford to take that long off on 128 a week.

 

[ellie27]

Everyone gets child benefit of around £20 per week.

If you jointly earn £46,000+ you get nothing else - which I think is totally fair!

I have paid tax/national insurance all my life. I am having a baby and it is my responsibility to provide for my family.

Glad they stopped the £190 grant for everyone, not everyone needs it!! Am also glad they will be stopping the child benefit for some in a couple years - I know a lot of folk who do not need £20 per week. These savings are much better spent elsewhere.

I work hard and do not expect anything from anyone.

On the otherhand, my mum brought up us 3 children on her own, and lived on benefits. I am very grateful to her and glad she could stay at home and look after us. We do need benefits for certain people in certain circumstances. Unfortunately sometimes people abuse the system

 

[PumpkinPatchx]

Hmm, really strange my OH earns £28,000 per year before tax.. but at CAB they said were entitled to Sure Start grant as it's our first baby.. :S X x

 

[ChocolateKate]

I agree Chocolate Kate, I'm grateful too to get something. But To be honest I'd rather pay more tax and pay a tenner for every GP appointment and get reasonable money when having a child with equal paternity leave as an option, hence why I want to move. I just think Uk is really backwards and not working in terms of NHS etc.

1 thing I dont agree with you on is that you can take a year off, you cant unless you have money saved. I get MA fo 6 months, thats it. I'm freelance. And if I was employed I couldnt afford to take that long off on 128 a week.

I agree with you and should have worded this better. I also won't be able to afford to take the full year, so am opting for the 39 weeks. What I should have said is that we have the option (funds allowing) to have the whole year which you don't in many other countries, and to come back to the same job. I have lived abroad and the grass isn't always greener. X

 

[doggy121]

Yep basically nothing if you work! we are lucky to get an maternity really I mean what do they do with all the money they tax me at the end of the month, coz I don't get any of it back! I would be quite happy not getting any benefits if they just taxed me less so I could keep more of what I actually get of my arse to earn!

I'm guessing your not using the NHS at all then! free prescriptions whilst pregnant? free dental care? NHS Midwife? NHS Hospital?

Not to mention all the other things Income Tax pays for!

Yes its unfair that LOW income families arent getting as much help but you cant say your not getting anything back! It would cost alot more to have a baby if you had to pay for your healthcare. Just having a baby in a private hospital costs over £10000!

i do apologise for saying this as i'm not one of those who like to be annoyingly annoying but like myself who's worked since i was 18 and paid tax and national insurance then those NI contributions are what is paying for my 'free perscriptions and mw care if i were to tot them up over the past 15 yr! its not free if you've worked all your life, just free for the buggers that haven't!

 

[HollieQ]

OP, no, unfortunately you're right, I doubt you'll be entitled to much, the direct gov website is good, and there's also the CAB who are great on these things apparently.

I think the whole system is f***d my OH works 65hrs a week and I normally do 50, I'm not working right now as its not possible to do the freelance work I do while highly pregnant. We are earning good money but it would still be nice to get some help. This is essentially why we are trying to move from this country (UK) as we think it would be nice to be able to afford childcare and to have hours to see our child. The conditions here are not reasonable to me. I dont mind working hard if it buys you freedom but the price for that is too high here, hence we are hopefully moving.

I get 128 pounds a week as MA on freelance, that doesenteven cover my part of the rent. Ha ha ha ha ha! Idiotic.

I agree wholeheartedly with you, so true - earning good money here just means you have to give more of it away! I don't mind paying my way for free schooling, healthcare etc, but when I've trained so hard for 7 years at my personal expense, sacrificed a lot of things, work 40 hours a week and I still find myself counting pennies something's wrong! Hence why we're also looking to move abroad within the next 5 years too!! But let's hope the conditions are as good there, I'm sure every country has their injustices . We both work so hard, and it really annoys me to see such injustice going on, luckily we can survive on my oh's wage alone, along with the small the maternity allowance my self employment will get me and the £20 child bebefit a week that we're entitled to (I decided early in my life that I wouldn't have kids till me and my partner earn't over 30 grand each, we're finally there, i'm 28 and my oh is 35!). But it's when i see families who work their ars*s off only to still REALLY struggle at the end of it to bring up a child they deserve, the people 'just' out of the threshold, so wrong and unfair.

Yet other people have babies who can't even afford them, then sit on their bums all day and are entitled to EVERY benefit going, and some more! Of course there is a place for benefits, but so many go to the wrong people, my own sister is registered 'disabled' yet has snuffed all benefits (except from DLA which she is entitled to no matter what) and works full-time in television, why? - because she can, she has a conscience!

 

[My4thmiracle]

Single parents name in this thread as the example of people that don't deserve help....... It's not easy being a single parent, but people with partners/husbands will never understand that.